To tap into
their potential, materials scientists from CSIR-National Physical Laboratory,
New Delhi prepared bundles of one-dimensional nanorods by using yttrium oxide,
ytterbium and holmium.

These rods, with a diameter of
100 nm, possess photoluminescence, a phenomenon in which light is absorbed and
then emitted. The nanorods displayed strong green emission.

Sophisticated imaging
techniques reveal that even a minor variation (0.1%) in photoluminescence
intensity can be easily observed in the nanorods, making them potentially
useful for display devices.

The applications of luminescent
materials also depend on how long photoluminescence lasts. Photoluminescence in
the range of milliseconds to microseconds have several potential applications
such as optical display devices, bio-medical and security ink applications.

The results show that photoluminescence
of nanorod bundles are highly useful for making advanced optical display
devices and security ink.

“Besides providing a better way
to understand the properties of luminescent nanomaterials, this study offers a
new technique to fabricate highly uniform display devices,” says lead
researcher, Bipin Kumar Gupta.